A typical brick and mortar establishment requires a lot of space in displaying different versions or models of a product and not all variety are usually displayed due to space or cost constraint. People usually like to see and interact with multiple products of different size, models, quality and design to check suitable options not only in terms of features, appearance and comfort as per choice, but also to get active information about the product or its components in real time, and also as soon as the product is launched. However, there is often a time gap or delay between actual product launch date and availability in various physical showrooms. Further, a manufacturer may desire to anticipate user responses or get feedback before actual launch of a new high-value product.
Efforts have been made in this regard to display the real products digitally with the help of images, videos, animations, or 3D models with some forms of pre-defined and/or limited interactivity with the displayed digital 3D object to overcome above problems. However, life-size, near life-size or greater than life-size 3D view of real products is limited to car. Current electronic systems displaying life-size digital representations of car are limited to using either video of car, an animation in pre-defined sequence, and/or a 3D computer model with very limited interactivity, and are very costly. In some implementation, 3D computer models of car is displayed with artificial texture, with pre-defined and/or very limited interactions possibilities available for users with the 3D models of car in real-time such as opening a few external parts such as door of 3D model of car, 360 rotations of 3D computer model of car in one plane, where internal parts like engine are shown by using images of engine separately which gives an artificial effect. Further, in conventional systems, interior of car is displayed in the form of panoramic video, where displayed internal parts are not interactive as they are just images. The textures displayed on 3D model of car in conventional systems are not realistic, and usually artificial textures of colour is used, and the view of the displayed life-size digital 3D object such as the 3D model of car looks artificial or like cartoons. Further, on zooming the displayed object or 3D model to visualize in life-size or on further zooming the life-size 3D model for detailing, texture becomes pixelated or blurred. In other words, current systems find it difficult to handle realistic images for every parts of displayed object or 3D model, that do not pixelate while zooming and provide user-controlled interaction.
Additionally, users cannot get active information about the product or its components as per choice. The users cannot get their query solved in real time in absence of a human representative near the life-size electronic panels, which aids in user frustration while using such conventional electronic systems.
In some implementations, such as in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/946,364, PCT application PCT/IN2013/000448, and Indian patent application 2253/DEU2012 filed by the same inventors and applicants as of this application to make available realistic 3D-model/s carrying similar properties of real object, where performing user-controlled realistic interactions selected from extrusive interaction, intrusive interactions, time-bound changes based interaction and real environment mapping based interactions was made possible as per user choice and with negligible loading time of the realistic 3D-models even over web-page. However, to display real products of large dimensions such as automotive vehicle, complex machineries, large home appliances in its original size or life-size as displayed in life-size in physical showrooms, and simultaneously perform user-controlled realistic interactions instantly with life-size 3D models by real-time rendering, an advanced form of system is needed for realistic interaction in exterior and interior region of a detailed 3D model in real time, where quality for life-size or greater than life-size 3D models is maintained even on zooming to visualize detailing. Further, a need arises to present or view one or more 3D models at the same time, and capability to perform some advanced user-controlled interactions to understand the displayed object/product, as mentioned below, to understand the displayed product and its features quickly and in improved manner.
In some implementation as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,185 and other prior art systems, methods and techniques in addition to above also lack one or more of the following:    a. Existing systems display unrealistic 3D model with unreal or artificial looking texture. Technique to interact with life-size 3D model textured using real photographs and/or video, which provides detailed, factual and realistic view, is unaddressed in the art.    b. Existing techniques, methods and systems can rotate 3D model in 360 degree in only one plane with either no or limited interactivity from one or a few field of view. Mostly Adobe Flash based applications are used for displaying images of products in specific sequence. If a life-size 3D computer model representing a real object can be rotated in real-time on a soft-copy display device in 360 degree in all planes, a better view of the object can be attained from all angles. Further, to interact with such 3D computer model in real-time from any point of view in any angles is a further challenge.    c. Removal of some parts from a 3D computer model, addition of new parts in the 3D computer model such that the part, also displayed as sub 3D model gets attached to the 3D computer model in a user-controlled interaction and displayed in real-time rendering of 3D computer model is not known. For example, attaching accessories such as bumper in 3D model of car in an interaction and viewing the 3D model of car with attached bumper from all angles by real-time rendering of the 3D model of car as per user input is not known.    d. For the purpose of this invention, and as used in this description and the appended claims, immersive interactions can be defined as interactions where users can visualize their own body performing user-controlled interactions with a 3D computer model, which appears as if the users are interacting with real physical object. A part of a 3D model can start moving, continuously move within the 3D-model, and stop moving as per user input, where the movement and interaction of user with the part and entire 3D model emulates real physical interaction. For example, a belt part moving over roller part in a 3D-model of a treadmill on pressing of start button by user in the 3D-model of the machine, and when the user provides another input of pressing the stop button on the 3D-model of the treadmill, the belt part stops moving gradually as in real machine. In such interactions, user can also see himself running over the belt, while the user runs physically standing before the system. Usually existing techniques, methods and systems use animations or video to display such functioning of parts of an object. The above-mentioned immersive interactions are lacking in existing systems.    e. It is difficult to represent functioning of electronic devices, electronic parts of a real 3D object or digital displays, which require an operating system, embedded operating system or the like in reality to run its hardware, such as a laptop or digital music system of a car, through display of 3D model of such objects, or display of a 3D model comprising such parts. A virtual operating system makes possible representing such functioning in a life-size 3D model or greater than life-size 3D model which is not known in art.    f. Liquid And Fumes Flow Interaction—Existing techniques showing liquid and fumes flow in real-time rendering is not realistic, and provides an artificial look and feel.    g. In modern vehicle lighting devices are very complex. Now-a-days vehicles have designer lights emitting light of different intensity at different section. Existing system, display such lights in real-time rendering just as light emitting source, but find difficult to display light which resemble real light in real-time rendering.    h. In real object some parts of the object are linked such that, when one part is moved, another linked part also moves consequently. This movement can be termed as linked movement. Current systems displaying 3D model lack such linked movement interaction in the 3D model, which is more realistic. An example of linked movement interaction can be an interaction with a 3D model of dustbin, where moving down pedestal of the 3D model of dustbin, lifts upper lid of the dustbin in linked movement as in real scenario (see FIG. 10).    i. Existing systems displaying life-size 3D models do not provide information by way of visualization of properties of softness, pressure, temperature of real products in a real-time interaction and viewing as per user choice. For example, displaying softness of seat in an easy to understand visualisation in a user interaction. Further, time bound changes such as visualising temperature change or wear and tear change in a real object over a period of time using a life size 3D to represent such time-bound changes is lacking.    j. Transparency-opacity effect for performing interaction of un-interrupted view of inaccessible internal parts using transparency-opacity in real-time is lacking.    k. Mirror effect provides a reflection of face, live background scene captured by camera or user's own body captured by a camera integrated with a system. This reflection can be seen in a mirror part of displayed 3D computer model even in life size 3D model, where the reflection is generated and displayed in real time like in real scenario with vivid and extremely realistic texture of both reflection and the displayed 3D model. The mirror effect is lacking in 3D models in real time interaction in existing electronic systems.    l. In physical establishment or real product showroom, usually a human representative is present to assist user in replying to user queries related to product/s considered or viewed by the user. An intelligent virtual product assistant for two-way voice communication to gain product information displayed on a soft-copy display device is desirable to make digital showroom more real. Such arrangement is lacking, where information about product cannot be obtained in real time in a human-like voice to voice two way communication in natural language, leading to user frustration. A real human representative is mandatorily required to be present near conventional electronic display systems.    m. Disintegrating parts one by one from a 3D model of real object in real-time over a soft-copy display device in an interaction as per user input such as of window part, or engine part while visualizing parts moving or disintegrating as per input of user can provide a better understanding of the object. Even such interactions may be prohibited in physical establishment. This kind of interactions are lacking in existing systems displaying 3D model.
In real scenario, a user first interacts with the real car with sight of outer body and features from different angles, opening the doors, viewing interior of life-size car experiencing moving steering, experiencing smoothness of seats, internal features, operating electronic parts to understand functionalities, etc, and again such interaction differs from user to user as per the needs and interest of user. Further, a user can ask different queries to a human representative and receive replies to gain active information about the product, the car.
What is needed is an electronic panel system, and an arrangement for enriched realistic viewing and interaction with displayed, real-looking life-size 3D-models representing real products, where information about displayed product can be obtained in real time, and where user can perform enhanced interactions with realistic 3D model as per user choice for visualizing and hearing effects produced in extrusive and intrusive interactions, liquid and fumes flow interactions, time bound changes based interactions, environment mapping based interactions, deletion interaction, addition interaction, immersive interactions, linked movement interactions, interaction for getting un-interrupted view of internal parts using transparency-opacity effect, inter-interactions, and engineering disintegration interactions.
The present invention is also directed to overcoming or reducing one or more deficiencies and other problems set forth above.